Voters reject longer terms for Canton Council members

As of 10:15 p.m., more than 65 percent of voters were rejecting Issues 7 and 8,

Matthew Rink CantonRep.com staff writer @mrinkREP

There was little support for longer terms at the polls Tuesday.

As of 10:15 p.m., more than 65 percent of voters were rejecting Issues 7 and 8, which would have extended the terms of City Council members and the council president from two to four years starting for the 2016-2017 election cycle.

"It came down to the voters," Councilman Thomas West said. "We put it on the ballot and allowed them the opportunity to vote on whether they wanted their council members to spend more time running campaigns or working on issues that meet their needs."

West, D-2, who ran unopposed Tuesday, proposed the idea shortly after winning the Democratic primary in May. He said he was not surprised by the outcome.

West pushed for longer terms because he believes too few voters are showing up at the polls on election day, a possible sign of voter fatigue. West said the longer terms would give council members more time to accomplish their goals and less time to engage in the politics of a campaign. West also said there could be some savings to the city by having council run on the same cycle as the mayor, auditor and law director. Voters would still be asked to vote for a city treasurer during those off-year cycles, however. He did not actively campaign for passage of Issues 7 and 8, he said.

Canton resident Phil Shultz voted against the proposal, saying he is not happy with the current council.

"You don't want them spending so much time campaigning that they can't do their work, but at the same time if they do their work they could probably spend less time campaigning," Shultz said. "I want to see more accountability."